Time for Some Holiday Themed Homicide

 

image copied from Goodreads

Now that we are heading into the holidays and more and more people are decking their homes for Christmas, it's time to switch from spooky to something a little different. I was privileged to receive an advanced reader copy of Home for the Homicides, a new series co-written by Elle Cosimano and Hannah Morrissey, from both NetGalley and Minotaur Books. I wasn't familiar with Hannah Morrissey, but I love Elle Cosimano's mysteries. So, I was very excited to read this.

It did not disappoint. Home for the Homicides is a fun and lighthearted romantic mystery with plenty of tongue-in-cheek satire, and a whodunit mystery that also features a rivals-to-lovers romance. Set in the fictitious town of Christmas, where up till now crimes just don't happen, a pair of SBI agents competing for the same job have 12 days to figure out who killed the woman found in the town nativity tableau. If they can't nab the perpetrator before the town's annual Jingle Bell Jubilee, things won't be good for Christmas.

I found the humor and banter in this very engaging and I loved the light satire woven into the setting, character names, and storyline. It is a well-written spoof on TV Christmas movies. If you've ever been a fan of the Hallmark Channel you will easily pick out many nods to their seasonal movies. The fact that the story is narrated by a grumpy elf makes it that much funnier. As with all of Cosimano's books that I've read, the love story was steamy and built up nicely as a second chance at romance. I liked both of the main characters and found them to be flawed and relatable as they scramble to follow leads and not succumb to their mutual attraction to one another. 

In terms of the mystery, there were just enough red herrings to keep me guessing until the last quarter of the book. It's nice when a mystery isn't too easy to figure out but still gives you enough clues that you feel you can solve the puzzle before the big reveal at the end.

If you enjoy lighthearted mystery rom-coms and can appreciate some holiday satire, then this might be the perfect book to enjoy for the holiday season. 

As for my next book review, I'll be delving into a work adapted from an unfinished manuscript by Jane Austen. An appropriate time to go back to the Regency Era, as we will be approaching Miss Austen's birthday in mid-December. I have a lot of thoughts on Jane Austen's The Watsons. But I did enjoy it. Both the book cover and blurb below have been copied from bookshop.org.

From New York Times bestselling author and creator of the beloved Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney mystery series comes a continuation of Jane Austen’s famous unfinished novel

The unsung heroine of Jane Austen’s unfinished novel The Watsons is a privileged girl living with her wealthy aunt and uncle absent any meaningful contact with her birth family. Then her life abruptly gets turned upside down: Her uncle dies, and her aunt remarries unwisely, which means she must return to Wiltshire and rejoin the greater Watson clan. There, she becomes an object of desire for the most eligible bachelor in the county, the proud Lord Osborne . . . but her own fascination alights upon Mr. Howard, the local clergyman. In the hundred pages Austen wrote before abandoning the novel, she asks: Can the youngest Watson sister afford to neglect the fortunes of her struggling family to truly follow her heart?  

But Austen never completed this book—and therefore, her devoted fans have never discovered the answer, leaving the heroine’s fate undefined and open to speculation. Until now, as bestselling author Claudia Gray expands this story into a vivid tale of love, sorrow, social class, honor, and, as in any Austen novel, the ways these all become intertwined for a young woman in Regency-era England. Transforming The Watsons from an unpolished draft into a riveting ensemble novel filled with romance, humor, and social commentary, Gray recaptures the spirit of Austen’s most enigmatic story.